The Japanese Jackie

Back on September 1st, 1964... Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese baseball player to play in a MLB game.  His time with the San Francisco Giants only lasted a little over a season, but his place in baseball history will hopefully be remembered forever.

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Murakami back in 2015 and I have slowly been building a collection of his cards ever since.  Last month, I purchased two autographed inserts of him off of eBay...

2025 Topps First Pitch #FP-2

This card captures Murakami throwing out the first pitch at Oracle Park on May 17th, 2024 in celebration of the 60th anniversary of his MLB debut.

2024 Topps Japan Edition 1989 #89J-48

This card features a cool koi border design and was inserted into 2024 Topps Japan Edition packs.  I'm not 100% sure, but based on the scoreboard it looks like Mashi posed for this photo at Wrigley Field either in 1964 or 1965.

Both of these cards were part of auctions that I won for a combined price of $64.09 ($26.19/$29 + $12 shipping + $4.74 tax).  Before bidding, I researched CGC x JSA pricing... which begins at around $15 per card if you're submitting items in bulk.  With that knowledge, I was very happy to win both of these auctions.

After playing for the Giants in 1965, he was ordered by the NPB commissioner to return to the Nankai Hawks for the 1966 season.  Thirty years later, Hideo Nomo became the second Japanese player (born in Japan) to cross the Pacific to play in the MLB.  Since then over seventy guys have followed their lead including one of the greatest contact hitters in the 21st century and one of the greatest players currently in the game.

Each year, it's exciting to see who will follow in Murakami, Nomo, Suzuki, and Ohtani's footsteps.  This past season fans watched guys like Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, and Tatsuya Imai make their MLB debuts.

Kenny (over at Torren' Up Cards) recently sent me ten pack of 2026 Stadium Club NPB.  It'll be interesting to see if any of these guys eventually come over to the states to play:

Some of you might recognize Tsuyoshi Shinjo (in the #3 spot).  He spent a few seasons with the Mets and Giants in the early 2000's.  These days he's managing the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

2026 Stadium Club NPB #139

Can't say that I recognize the other nine guys, but maybe one of them will be the next Hideki Matsui or Masahiro Tanaka.  Only time will tell.  Until then, I'll keep collecting cards of NPB players in hopes that one day I'll get to see them play at Oracle Park or Sutter Health Park.

Thank you Kenny for donating these Stadium Club cards to my collection.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!